► Thyroid Social Community ~ What is your opinion about a new community for us that is strictly social

[ChitChatNine]

which will allow us to post among ourselves on an off-topic friendly, casual basis.  A Social Community can be set up by MedHelp for us and will allow us to share our friendships, make new friends, have a laugh or two, talk about our kids' graduations or ask what to make for dinner tonight!

Of course, our Thyroid Disorders and Dr. Lupo's Expert Forums will remain as-is  -- this new community will compliment them.

So .. go for it ... post your thoughts and comments below.

Cheryl - Co-CL Thyroid Disorders

[ChitChatNine]

I think it is a great idea.  We all need a stressbuster and that is the perfect place for it.   I've made so many friends on this community .. what a great idea to keep in touch with them on a social level, too!

That is my opinion ..  Cheryl

[nissah46]

I think it is a great idea too. People sometimes just want to connect, without necessarily having a question, or an answer to someone else's question.
..

[MKlacza]

I think its great! I have made some very good friends here and we have our chats about other stuff other than the thyroid BS and its nice sometimes to forget about all this and just chat and laugh about other stuff!! Isnt that what were looking to do anyways!!!!

[Savas]

I didn't suggest this before because I was worried that the site owners would groan and get headaches from all the potential grief open discussion forums can create.

But...despite most forums like this not being a free speech forum, I'd love to see us give it a try. One can have, open friendly discussion and healthy, even volatile debate and not have it be the end of the world. It would need a very on top of it moderator, though. Perhaps three or four for when cat fights break out? :)

I vote for it, of course.

I'd suggest we go to each forum and post a message asking the posters to vote, as I was hoping for an open forum that ALL groups would partake in. It would be a great way for the different communities to get to know each other better.

[ChitChatNine]

Stella5349 and I are the co-cl's for the new community if we move forward with it.

Our "thryoidians" are very well behaved .. never a headache from any potential grief in site .... LOL .... we really most likely will chat about day to day life and not the debate stuff .... that is how we foresee it.  

Keep in mind, this community is much smaller scale than a large community which you speak of.  

Any postings for any type of community addition like this have to be approved through MedHelp directly before posting; MedHelp applies the sticky note, too.  All future suggestions/requests would go through the CL for that community.

Cheryl

[AR-10]

Mr. Stick In The Mud thinks it will explode, and not in a good way.

I don't want to know how you vote, or what you think of immigration, or your view of Right to Life, or your religeous persuasion. Pub night, new questions get ignored.

Cat fights and trolling will abound. Don't know what trolling is? You'll find out.

But then, I've been trained to look at a situation and see the problems before they arise.  :-/

My wife calls it cynicism.

A Code of Conduct will be established, and it will be pushed and pushed and pushed and then someone, WHO NEEDS MEDICAL INFORMATION, will get banned from the site and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth and cries of oppression and vitriol for the Rule Enforcer and someone else WON'T get banned, and then the room will catch on fire...


or not.  :-)


But I have seen it happen, and it will.

The site can do as it likes.
A general discussion forum here does not interest me, because I can go to another site that has one and argue till the cows come home. And watch idiots get banned, and laugh. Been doing it for eight years. Someone gets banned almost every week. Then they come back with a new account and troll just to be disruptive.

JMHO

[ChitChatNine]

I think that since it will be moderated  by our more-than-willing mods and with the CL's keeping an eye on things, it will work out  .... I agree with AR's points  for a larger-scale community ...not one where only thyroid people will most likely be posting.  It will be called Thyroid Social Community so won't attract many, if any, outsiders.

But, AR --- your comments are well-respected .. just my two cents.

C~

[wandy07]

I like to read everyone's comments when I get that rare opportunity.   You all have been a source of great help to many, myself included.   Have fun with your new site. wandy

[redheadaussie]

Yay! My word Thyroidian is in everyday use! Yippeeeeee! I think I will now make up T-shirts saying,  "I'm a Thyroidian!" Anyone want one?
  Oh and as for the social network..why not!

[stella5349]

I'm on the fence on this thought.

[ChitChatNine]

There is opportunity for the community to have its own, new CL if it takes off .. it doesn't necessarily have to be Stella and myself as CL's over there ... I realized this after I posted way up top about who will be moderating the community questions, etc.

It would probably make sense at least in the begininng for a current CL to be over there . but always room for suggestions and volunteers ....

C~

[Venora Moonwind]

I thin k it is a great idea. we can handle the trolls and others who dont wnat to be nice or behave. caount me in.
Love Venora

[nellster]

Hi, I too am on the fence. I'll give it some thought.

Nellster

[ChitChatNine]

I am on the fence in the regard that I don't want to lose what have going here? Does anybody else feel tugged by that?  That is the one shade of grey I have ?

But I am hopeful it will be a bold move for us and take off into a wonderful closely, knit friendly community ... in the begininng, this community was tiny ... we made it what it is today .. I can only see that happening in a social community, too?

C~

[nissah46]

What is trolling? This is my 1st and only forum, so I am not informed.
Trish

[pep88]

Would the pubs go to that community?  If so, I'd maybe only be in it for the pubs, but that's about all I can manage to find time for.  And I love the info I get here even though it seems I spend too much time on my computer already, so I'd vote no, but I'm with AR, I too can be a stick in the mud sometimes...

[AR-10]

Trolling is when I start a thread about religion so that I can get Stella to call kitty a witch and watch three pages of arguments about whether or not praying to trees is spiritual or psychotic or pagan or satanic. And then the thread gets locked.

(Sorry girls)

I'm pretty good at it.

It takes finesse to call someone a dispicable thing and do it in a way that falls within the code of conduct.

I can do that, too.

It's fun, but it doesn't do much to pull the community together.

I lead an alternate life on another board.
I'm a psycho-zombie. With a dry wit and lots of guns.
See? We're already learning more than we wanted to. :-)

I do complain about my health there too... :-/


Cheryl, I'm sorry to be the rainmaker, but you asked for opinions. I'm serious. I don't want to know people's political views unless they are on my friends list and we are chatting.

But that's just me. There are a few boards with social community boards on the site now. I've never looked at them. Maybe they work smoothly and are a benefit. I don't know. They don't interest me.

Find a couple, look them over, and do what you think is best.
I think the Depression forum may have one, or the anxiety forum.
I know there are a few around, but I'm not sure how to find them.

[nissah46]

Thanks for that info. I can't believe people would do that!HaHa

[ChitChatNine]

All the points mentioned are very valid points ... and, it's ok to  have an opinion that is why the thread was posted vs. just starting the community w/o our input!

AR .. what color is your troll's hair?  I saw a troll journal on the activity bar yesterday (I'm seriuos) and now I wonder .. WAS IT YOU ::: snicker joke ha ha::::  All kidding aside, thanks for the description of Trolling .. I couldn't have said that better.   Trolling is nasty stuff ....... but I also say that it takes the people to troll and we don't have those people to begin with on this community.  It very rarely needs outside moderation as we self-police and do a good job; however, anything can change and AR has a valid point to consider .. but, I don't think it will be an issue .. just my 2 cents based on history.  

Every community has its ups and downs on/off the board ({PM's, e-mail etc)  ... it's the people behind the scenes that forge a healthy relationship among the members or have too much time on their hands and play games with it.. and there is the inbetween and the absence of tihs behavior.  It is what makes ea. community a pleasure, a challenge, or just makes it what it is.  Thyroid Disorders is a solid community with wonderful members.

This new community can be viewed as the notes feature.  Some love it.  Some hate it.  Some use it.  Some block it.

As far as the pub I will find out where it would go.  The Pub is TGIF in  Thyroid guys ... that is one thread we call our "own" on thyroid LOL ... I am protective of it and its creators (all of us) so don't worry ... it's not leaving us anytime soon as far as I know .. maybe it would go to the new Social Community but not leave us.

C~

[ChitChatNine]

Does anybody's opinion change if we consider taking it on a 3mos trial basis?

If it flies terrific! If it sinks .. say goodbye to it ... if we are in knee-deep and our regular community isn't getting the proper attention we say goodbye to social?

History on MedHelp reveals a burst of startup and then it usually maintains at a pace which compliments the main community and does not detract from it.

I would more readily consider it on a trial basis.

C~

[Rite760]

I think in general it's a great idea. And in particular going back to the start of the thread, I agree with Nissah46, sometimes you just want to connect with people and this would be a great way of doing it. Because although I try to help by answering questions, I don't often know the right technical answers, but just want people to know that I am thinking of them. This would be a great way of offering just plain support and interest in each other.

[nellster]

A trial period may benefit us here.  I agree with AR, trolling is nasty and Trolls usually pounce with mean spirited messages.  A concern is if one were to pop up, he/she/it may really hurt a member's feelings.  You are all so wonderful and helpful to me, I don't ever want to lose that.  The day I found you was the first day I truly started learning about Hypothyroidism.  You have all inspired me to take control and learn as much as I can.  I value all of your opinions, and frankly, need them.  I often ask myself, what would AR think or would Stella know?

Nellster

[898]

Let's try one.
The participation must be voluntary; those who are prone to turn the discussion into the dog fights must get blocked by mods.

[898]

The definition of Trolling from Wikipedia:
An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial and usually irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of baiting other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.
I have had encountered several Trolls while participating in the car repair forums.

[KelDC]

A trial run seems like the perfect solution -- we can see if trolling will be a problem and if the Thyroid Disorders forum suffers.  It can't hurt to test it out, so I say go for it!  

[K2kids]

I would love a trial run. I think it would be great to get to know some more people in the thyroid community. I'm on board, if its a go. Thanks

[Thypatient]

Certainly can’t hurt to try, I guess.  I agree with AR-10 though.  When you open up personal doors, sometimes it can get too personal.

I was on another site, for another subject and things were fine until members from, what was later described as, some sort of PTL club decided it would be a good idea to let all that be known.  Eventually this all bled back into the main board until every thread was dictated by, 1.) that success was based on one’s level of belief and, 2.) that the belief had to be a belief in The Lord.  Both were untrue for what was being discussed.  Pretty soon things degenerated into what became some unintentional but mean-spirited posts.  Sadly, some really key people, critical to the original subject matter, left the group.  It now no longer exists.

And I’m not even talking about trolling.

Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t that there was something wrong with those beliefs.  It’s just that it had no place in what was being discussed.  I myself had some of it directed at me, but I can usually blow off such stuff.  (I happened to have come from what was probably ‘the most religious’ in an area of ‘very religious families,’ so even having had it insinuated that I didn’t somehow stack up was hilarious.)  One thing that was weird too, was reading the same people share some nasty, naughty things they were up to (my virgin ears!).

Yet, on the other side of things, I was on another board that could have used a space to discuss personal matters.  I remember more than once it was upsetting to read how one popular woman spoke to her teenage daughter.  I thought she was mean but everyone else seemed to cheer her on.  She once proudly shared that she told her daughter she now needed to focus on her new husband and the child they had and that the girl needed to understand all that, especially since she would be going off to college soon – she was only fifteen!

Sorry to ramble.

[ChitChatNine]

Yes, when on the Internet -->  Religion and Politics are no no's .. always have and always will spark debate and potential problems.  

With our moderators in full force 24/7 this type of potential activity (if against the TOS) won't be allowed and will be deleted before it gets a chance to spill over to the main community.  This community will be a focus for our Moderators .. I have full confidence in them as your CL and have the ability to reach them immediately in case of a major disruption to the community.  

Cheryl

[Thypatient]

I have confidence too!

[iunderstand69]

It looks like you all have made your mind up on the trial.  I just logged on today.  I truly like things the way they are.  I would hate to mess up a good thing.  I really enjoy all of the information that we share with each other with just enough personal touch.  This community has been so good for me and I really appreciate all of you and your input so much!!!

[AR-10]

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/show/88

Look at the first two pages.

Politics, religion, medical questions, and someone complaining because their topic keeps getting deleted.

There is one thread I am very tempted to address, but this site is not for that kind of discussion. I found some of the comments trollish and offensive.


Practically speaking, why not just go there and socialize? They're going to come here. Make it site wide.

Nothing is stopping me from posting a rebuttal in the thread that bugs me. I'm just not going back.

[anree]

I have to agree with AR-10. I think that it can get very sticky. People who are helping each other here would stop helping some if they knew who they 'really were'. ( So to speak ) So I probably won't visit the 'test' forum. I don't want to offend anyone by my personal 'opinions', and I don't want to get offended by theirs. I think we do a good job of getting along fine, and telling our funny happenings once and awhile too.

[nissah46]

I checked it out--I see what you mean.

[ChitChatNine]

I hear you all ... I definitely am [ listening ] .... nobody's mind is made up on a trial ..... nothing referred to MedHelp with our opinion ..... it's not like that .... what I do know is that if our minds were made up to do the community it would be here already ... no .... no minds decision reached on this thread I don't think .. I see varied opinions .... with lots of valid input!

The post about this community being "just enough" personal is one that hits home with me this morning. But I, like Stella and some others am on the fence.

hmmmmmmm

C~

[Thypatient]

Checked out the other pages.  Politics; zodiac - with some talk associating one sign or another being more prone to...    Oh, dear!  No, thanks.

iunderstand69 said it best:  "I really enjoy all of the information that we share with each other with just enough personal touch."

...just enough personal touch that if anything seems a bit off it can easily be ignored and/or disappear quickly.

For what it's worth, I'm officially voting 'nay' on this idea.

[ChitChatNine]

(Keep in mind that the social community you took a look at is much different than thyroid.  Different people with much different health concerns and, perhaps, much different topics appearing on their community .. Only fair I point this out before we think about this for a final opinion).

[ChitChatNine]

      ~*~*~*~ HERE IS THE PLACE FOR YOUR FINAL OPINION ~*~*~*

[stella5349]

  I gotta say not at this time .

[anree]

No thanks!

[pep88]

I am so appreciative of this site.  It has been WONDERFUL for information and surprisingly (because I didn't expect to), I've made "cyber"-friends with a lot of people I don't "really" know and probably, unfortunately, never will.  I HIGHLY value their opinions on THYROID issues.  Their input has caused me to be more aware of my physical condition and aggressively advocate on my own behalf regarding my treatment.  

I communicate with the friends I've made and I support them.  And they in turn, support me.  Sometimes that support turns to a conversation or note about getting a degree or losing a relative.  I can, and do communicate my emotions regarding their accomplishments or losses, because I appreciate them.  

However, getting to know someone in the "real world" requires taking that person's friends, views, emotions, kindness (or lack thereof), and livelyhood into consideration.  That's not what I came here for.  I want and need information.  The "cyber"-friends are a welcome bonus.  I, quite honestly, have that part of "real"-life covered.  I have numerous activites and social commitments, and I'm sorry, but unless I'm getting to know the "real" you... I don't care what your views are on anything other than thyroid issues (and sometimes I care in the pub, because it's just plain fun... but only occasionally).  I just wouldn't be up for anything more perminent than that.  

Sorry. I would not attend or view.  

[ChitChatNine]

Thank you very much for your willingness to explore a Thyroid Social Community for us in addition to the Thyroid Disorders Community.  

At this time, on behalf of the Thyroid Community members, and as their Community Leaders, both Stella and I thank you for this opportunity but would like to put the idea on hold right now with the opportunity to "revisit" it again if our current needs should change.

The community we have built and maintain on Thyroid is something very special to all of us, and I am sure to MedHelp, too, and we feel it best to leave things as-is for now but thank you again for the opportunity to discuss this new community.

With regards,

Cheryl & Stella - Co-CL's Thyroid Disorders Community